Though I've given my fair share of criticism to President Obama
and remain opposed to the stimulus package, I have to say that he
has made a lot of smart political moves so far. His visit to the
Capitol to meet with Congressional Republicans was a
masterstroke, because he came off as gracious -- even though his
statement that he wants to take politics out of the stimulus was
a riot given that the bill is a massive collection of Democratic
pet projects. But it's a win-win situation for him. If he peels
off some Republicans, he can claim bipartisan support, and if he
doesn't he can still pass the bill he wants and portray
Republicans as being trapped in the old ways of Washington, where
petty partisan games got in the way of doing the people's
business. Also, he was smart to lobby to have the family planning
money removed, a case where Democrats were sticking their thumbs
in the eyes of Republicans. Democrats followed up by
stripping the $200 million of funding to spruce up the
National Mall. In both cases, Democrats are depriving Republicans
of an easy line of attack and making it seem that Republicans
will oppose any piece of legislation, despite their overtures.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post
reports on the reasons why some Democrats are skeptical about
the bill.
